Rahul pledges support to farmers, promises legal cover to MSP if Bloc India wins Lok Sabha polls

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said his party will accept the long-pending demands of the country’s farmers and ensure minimum support price (MSP) for crops if Bloc India comes to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. ) provides legal protection.

Addressing the farmers’ rally ‘Kisan Nyay Panchayat’ in Rohtas, Bihar as part of the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, Gandhi claimed that “cultivators do not get remunerative prices for their crops”.

“If the Bloc India comes to power after the elections, we will provide legal cover for MSP. Whenever farmers raise demands to Congress, they will be met. Be it loan waiver or MSP, we have always protected the interests of cultivators and will do so in future Do it,” said Gandhi.

His remarks came as farmers’ body Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday called on the ‘Bharat Bandh’ to pressure the BJP-led central government to accept the demands of growers, including minimum support price for farmers Legal guarantee. crop.

Farmers in Punjab started their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Delhi and Haryana. The protesting farmers have been camping at the border point since then. Their turmoil entered its fourth day on Friday.

The Congress MP also lashed out at the BJP-led central government, accusing it of “diverting a sizeable portion of the defense budget into the pockets of industrialists”. The Centre’s defense budget is not for the welfare of the people and all defense contracts are given only to corporate groups,” he claimed.

Gandhi also criticized the Centre’s Agnivir plan, saying the Union government had “divided the army into two categories – Agnivir and regular army”. “If the Agnivers were injured or martyred, they would not receive adequate compensation. Why does this discrimination occur? Why did they create a separate category in the Army for Agnivers and others?” the MP asked road.

Earlier, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav joined Gandhi for the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’. The party resumed its activities at its district office in Sasaram this morning and is expected to enter Uttar Pradesh through Mohaniya in Kaimur district in the evening. Yadav and Gandhi were seen sitting on the roof of a slow-moving sports utility vehicle as they waved to an enthusiastic crowd that had gathered on the town’s main road.

Locals lined the roads to watch the parade. Earlier, Yadav was seen driving the SUV along with Gandhi and other leaders. The two leaders of the opposition ‘Mahagathbandhan’ will also address a public meeting in Kaimur around 3 pm on Friday.

The ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ started in Manipur on January 14 and is scheduled to cover 6,713 kilometers in 67 days, passing through 110 districts in 15 states, and finally ending in Mumbai on March 20.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)